lized freedom from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
And everywhere we had gloried in the lay
of the American land, the land that was here
before man, the land that patiently succors
man and his plunderous ways: the Atlantic's
coastal plain, the swelling Alleghenies, the
prairies, the Rockies, plateaus and basins,
the Sierra, and California's fecund valley.
Now we threaded low passes through the
Coast Ranges and saw Pacific tidewater
as we crossed Carquinez Strait in a sudden
shower.
Instead of taking the San Francisco-Oak-
KODACHROMEBY RALPH GRAY,NATIONALGEOGRAPHICSTAFF ( N.G.S.
land Bay Bridge immediately, I drove through
Berkeley to the crest of the Berkeley Hills,
where we got out and looked down through
rain-washed air. Our eyes sped across the
brilliant whitecaps of San Francisco Bay to
the towers and hills of the city; through Gold
en Gate to the shining sea.
We seemed at one with the pioneers and
with the Maker of mountains and bays. We
were proud that He had found men to match
His mountains and tame His plains. Enlight
ened by our trip, we felt more than ever
privileged to call them kin.